Come fly with me: Airport encounters

Recently, leaving from an airport I had never previously visited, I was caught in a dilemma — eat before or inside duty-free, shop outside or inside? A couple of years ago in Los Angeles, having expected an array of exciting food options at the airport and running late for our flight, my husband and I did not stop at any of the restaurants we passed en route to the airport. On reaching and seeing the not-so-great options before Duty Free, we decided to wait until we got inside, only to find absolutely nothing (and if there was anything, it was nothing I could eat or remember). And so we boarded a 14-hour (perhaps even longer) journey hungry, and all the more exasperated, since I'm not a fan of in-flight food. Luckily, from what I remember, my exhaustion meant that I slept through most of the flight.

Back to last week, on seeing Pizza Hut and travelling with children, we did, of course, cave in before Duty Free at another international airport, as I did with jewellery shopping. Not only were we then extremely late for the flight due to the long security queues, but running to the gate, I spotted a number of cafés and a food court, as well as the very same jewellery shop (with lack of time, I didn't even get to do the tax refund on the jewellery I had bought outside — if only I had known this same shop was inside!). In the middle of running and with the British Airways staff calling us, I thankfully did not get a chance to soak in the irritation; and the moment I boarded the flight, I was so busy trying to find space for my bags and looking for my seat that I did not get another moment to entertain the lost opportunities and feel peeved.

However, something that this has taught me, and what I have previously realised but not acted upon, is to find out all options before flying — had I been flying alone last week, my mood might have been more affected. With Heathrow, I know that all the best food options are inside Duty Free, especially at Terminal 5. Dubai — well, I have never been too impressed with the food available (odd, considering the spectacularity of the airport itself). And another airport I know well is Mumbai, with a variety of options inside (but with nothing prior to Duty Free, one would only go inside). Bangkok and Singapore also come to mind as providing an array of shopping and food choices. And then there is New York, a basic airport but with good food options. The list goes on — I recently wrote an entire column on Nairobi airport. And just as there are times when I would rather be as late as possible if I know there isn't much to do at the airport, there are certain airports which I actually enjoy spending time in, and hate to rush (Heathrow Terminal 5 is at present on the top of that list).

And so, on this recent flight, I ended up eating nothing but a bunch of snacks and feeling all the worse for it (I took a peek at the vegetarian hot food option and immediately returned it). On the bright side, the flight itself was enjoyable, only because I was travelling with my family and there were a number of interesting, if a little embarrassing, incidents — such as the lady behind my sister creating such a fuss when she reclined her chair that she woke up my nephew who was about to fall asleep (I suggested that she, too, recline her seat, but she replied with a "I'm not discourteous to the passenger behind me". At this there was nothing left to do but laugh). Then there was a bag I was trying to take out of the overhead locker after take-off and it fell on someone's head (not so amusing); and with our seats dotted around in separate rows, there was rather a lot of movement during the flight, commotion that made us the centre of attention, possibly not in the most favourable light. Despite all this and despite the hot and cold crew that at times seemed intimidating and abrupt, it was an altogether enjoyable, even delightful journey.

— Follow Meera Ashish on www.talefourcities.comand @meeraashish and @talefourcities